Stoplight Cameras Deemed Illegal, Fines to be Refunded

Last Spring, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided the stop light cameras were illegal because they ticketed the owners of the cars, not the drivers that sped through the red lights. An October 2 Star Tribune article said that those who were slammed with tickets because of this system would be refunded.

Joy Powell wrote this article, and used several sources in doing so. She obviously either attended or looked at court records; she attributes the findings of the court to Judge Mark Wernick. She also interviewed a defense attorney named Marshall Tanick, who told her that the process of refunding the money won't be as easy as just cutting a check for everyone, due to the fact that the city already gave most of the money to the county. Powell must have gone through police records, because she tells the reader that 15,000-20,000 people have already payed their tickets. She also interviewed a city spokesman named Matt Laible. Laible told her that the city gets only 30% of each ticket, and most goes into fees. She also found out when the next hearing will be, indicating she went into more court records.